Founder-Led Sales 101: Everything You Need to Know in 2024

Look, many startup founders all go into this founder-led sales thing with some pretty wacky preconceived notions about how it’s gonna go down. But having worked with startup founders for a long time, I’ve heard every founder-led sales myth under the sun. And let me tell you, if you buy into these ridiculous misconceptions, you’re heading straight for a sales pipeline drier than Ivanpah Lake. It’s time for me to call out these founder-led sales myths. Maybe then we can stop founders from repeating the same boneheaded mistakes over and over again.

• “As a bootstrapped founder, I don’t need any sales process.” Sure, you’re lean and scrappy but having some kind of sales process is still crucial. Without it, you’re just flailing around blindly on sales calls / demo calls putting out fires.
• “I’ll worry about sales once we have a product.” Hate to break it to you but the struggle is real when you’re bootstrapping. Not focusing on sales early means you’ll be way behind the curve once you actually launch. You need to start planting those seeds way earlier than you think.
• “Our value proposition sells itself, we don’t need a go-to-market strategy.” Says every delusional bootstrapped founder who thinks their product is the second coming. Look, no matter how game-changing you think your product is, you still need a solid go-to-market strategy and founder-led sales plan.
• “We’ll just focus on our existing network and new prospective customers will come.” Relying solely on your existing network and hoping prospective customers will magically appear is like expecting to win the lottery without buying a ticket. You need a real go-to-market plan to identify and pursue your ideal buyer personas.
• “I used to be a sales rep, so I got this founder-led sales thing covered.” Having sales experience is great, but being a founder doing sales for your own startup is a whole new beast. This is especially true if your sales experience coming from working at a company with a product market fit. Founder-led sales require a different level of creativity, hustle, and ownership that your past job could never prepare you for.
• “I don’t need any sales training, I’m a natural!” Whooooah there, cowboy. Sure, you may have been the star showman at high school, but B2B sales is a whole different animal. Thinking you can just wing it without any sales training is like showing up to a boxing match without ever putting on gloves. You’re gonna get knocked out cold.
• “We can’t afford a CRM right now, I’ll just keep everything in a spreadsheet.” Oh man, using a spreadsheet to track your contacts, leads, deals, sales activities, and customer needs is kinda like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. You’re just asking for critical information to slip through the cracks. Find a way to budget for a real CRM from the start.
• “Our product is so niche, we don’t need to define buyer personas.” Just because you’re selling to a specific niche, doesn’t mean you can ignore the importance of clearly defining your ideal buyer personas.
• “I’m just the visionary, my co-founder handles all the sales.” Yep, the classic founder-led sales cop-out. Rather than rolling up your sleeves, you just toss the grenade of sales to your co-founder and peace out. Well news flash buddy: sales is everyone’s responsibility when you’re bootstrapping, whether you like it or not.
• “Our product is so amazing, we don’t need to do lead nurturing.” Says the founder living in a dream world. Even if your product could literally kick every other solution’s butt, you still need a thoughtful lead nurturing process to guide prospects through your sales cycle. Not doing lead nurturing is a recipe for leaving boatloads of potential revenue on the table.
• “I don’t have time to prospect, I’m too busy building the product.” Sure, developing the product is crucial, but neglecting prospecting is like putting all your effort into building a fancy new car without ever installing an engine. You’ll have a real nice dusty ornament, but it ain’t going nowhere without sales, chief. These days, distribution is more important than ever.
• “We can’t afford paid tools, I’ll just use the free trials.” As a bootstrapped founder, I get the allure of freebies. But trying to run an entire sales process using a patchwork of free trial tools is kinda like taping together a bunch of napkins and expecting it to work as toilet paper. It’ll get messy real quick. You gotta invest at least a little. You can get away for a bit with using freebies and whatnot, but when it comes to client-facing tools, you gotta look professional.
• “I’m too busy to log sales activities in the CRM.” Skipping out on entering sales activities and notes into your CRM may seem like a hassle in the moment, but that lack of caution is gonna come back to bite you in the butt before you know it.
• “I don’t need a real sales deck, I’ll just freestyle it.” You know who else likes to “freestyle” their presentations? College students trying to BS their way through a class presentation they didn’t prepare for. Having a polished, well-crafted sales deck shows prospects you take this seriously and respect their time.
• “Doing cold prospecting just isn’t my strong suit.” Well then buddy, I’ve got some tough love for you: If you can’t bring yourself to make sales calls and send cold emails as a bootstrapped founder, then you’re deader than disco. Sales is the lifeblood of any company regardless of their size, so you better get over yourself and make it your strong suit real quick.
• “Our product is too early stage for me to worry about sales yet.” Sure, in a perfect world you could just build your product in a vacuum first. But we’re bootstrapping here in the real world, my friend. Sales has to be part of the process from day one, even in the early stages. Otherwise, you’re just blindly guessing.

Welcome to the world of value propositions – the secret weapon in your founder-led sales arsenal. Think of your value proposition as the beating heart of your sales pitch. It succinctly communicates the unique benefits of your product or service and how it will improve your customers’ lives. In a world where attention spans are shorter than ever, a strong value proposition is crucial to grab your target audience attention and make a lasting impression.

Here are the ingredients of a winning value proposition:

1. Clarity: Cut through the noise by being crystal clear about what your product or service does. Avoid jargon and buzzwords that might leave your potential customers scratching their heads. Remember, if they don’t understand it, they won’t buy it.
2. Relevance: Show your prospective customers how your offering is tailor-made for their needs, wants, and pain points. Use your buyer persona to ensure your message resonates with your target audience.
3. Uniqueness: What sets you apart from the competition? Highlight the one-of-a-kind features or benefits that make your product or service stand out in a crowded market. Think of it as your secret sauce – the ingredient that makes your offering irresistible.
4. Simplicity: Less is more, as they say. Keep your value proposition short, sweet, and to the point. Aim for a single, powerful sentence that conveys your message with impact. Remember, brevity is the soul of wit – and of value propositions!

Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you become a sales conversation maestro:

• Ask open-ended questions: Instead of yes-or-no questions, ask your potential customers about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. For example, “What challenges are you currently facing?” or “How do you envision our product helping you achieve your goals?” This will encourage them to open up and share valuable information.
• Be genuinely curious: Show genuine interest in your prospects’ lives, problems, and aspirations. By being authentically curious, you’ll not only build rapport but also gather insights that will help you craft a compelling sales pitch.
• Summarize and paraphrase: Repeat your prospects’ key points in your own words to show that you’re actively listening and understanding their perspective. This also gives them an opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings.
• Listen for cues: Pay attention to verbal and non-verbal cues, such as tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions. These can give you valuable insights into your prospects’ emotions, preferences, and concerns.
• Be patient and don’t interrupt: Let your prospects finish their thoughts before jumping in with your response. Interrupting can make them feel unheard and disrespected, which is the last thing you want in a sales conversation.

With your active listening toolkit at the ready, it’s time to put these skills to work in your sales conversations. As you engage with potential customers, remember to listen more, talk less, and genuinely understand their needs and pain points. In doing so, you’ll not only build trust and rapport but also position yourself as a trusted advisor – the superhero who can swoop in and save the day with your tailored solution.